SIX Things Everybody Needs to Know About SRE

SRE is a process that software engineers use to solve infrastructure and operations related problems. The main goal of SRE is to create a highly reliable software system.

Understanding Site Reliability Engineering (SRE) is a bit fuzzy as the term’s definition is still flexible. This content will help to know six things about SRE:

1. SRE was introduced by Google’s Ben Treynor Sloss

Treynor is the VP of engineering at Google. SRE is a software engineer’s approach to doing operations. It is a big job that he claims if Google ever stops working, it will be his fault. This approach describes Google’s operating approach in its production. SRE does not mean only to improve the reliability, but also improve SRE itself. A team full of Google’s engineers has written a book on SRE, including its roles and practices. 

2. SRE is quite enough what someone makes of it

Like DevOps, the definition of SRE can get squishy anytime. SRE is a cross-disciplinary role that is deeply connected to shifts the way the user wants. It is a positive side of SRE. Before following Google’s book to implement the model, engineers must remember that they have to deal with specific hardware and software combinations. Otherwise, the project will fail. 

3. Automation is a must to SRE.

SRE’s definitions and implementations can vary, but automation is a must in this process. SRE has many roles. One is to think about people’s doing inefficient and time-consuming things and how to stop them. Automation is a way to prevent people from doing these things. 

4. There’s no standard set of SRE tools- but one should make standardized anyway.

There is no uniform set of SRE tools. But one should make it standardized alongside automation. It is essential to achieve scalability, repeatability, and other goals. As being the SRE team helps many software engineer teams, it gets difficult to support if they do not use the same tools.

5. SRE is not only for tech companies, and SRC can help make it work for anyone

SRE is not only for cloud-native and SaaS companies. Nowadays, every company is a software company. So its range is increasing day by day. SRC means Site Reliability Champion. Their role is to refine the job to meet specific challenges. Implementing SRE is very complex, and it’s widespread to get lost in the midway. Here, SRC helps to stay on track.

6. To be excellence in SRE, it requires a healthy mindset and experience.

Implementing SRE, the experience is needed. But less experienced can also bring the mindset to the services they build and maintain. To perform SRE roles, it requires both development and operations skills. But the main thing is to set a mindset to implement this. To make an effective SRE, it lacks depth and breadth’s combination, a minimum level of fluency to manage in a time of complexity. 

The setup allows organizations as well as teams to embed SREs and SRCs available on demand. SRE is the combination of Site Engineer and System Enthusiast. Its most significant challenge is to help people find a new way to approach building systems.